WWYD!?!? Pharmacy Blunder

So Friday I got a RX for G-man and just a few minutes ago as I was giving it to him I noticed the label was peeling so I started fiddling with it (it needs refrigerated so the humidity was making it peel a bit) and soon realized that they just gave me an older RX of someone else's. Now I realize that it was probably one someone didn't pick up (it is amoxocillen that is dry and they mix it right before you pick it up) and they just re shelved it but what concerns me MORE is I now have the complete name, address, telephone number and Dr.'s name of some little boy!?!?!

They didn't even try to remove the old label or scratch it out or black it out beyond a THIN pen line through his first name (which BTW is still TOTALLY readable)!!! When I called them on this the guy on the phone (who was probably just a tech because he told me the manager wasn't there) said that they do try and peel off the labels and they do black out all the information... WRONG-O buster...I have the bottle right in front of me and NONE of that stuff was done!!!

This has to violate all kinds of privacy issues and probable in some way violate HIPPA. To me this is an unthinkable "mistakes", who know what kind of creep-o could end up with another little person's info!! All they would have to do is stalk the house find out what the kid looks like and the next thing you know..."Hey Billy (not the boy's name BTW) your mom and dad are sick and told me to pick you up......................."

What else should I do...I already called the pharmacy and got the "we'll try harder next time speech" but I really think this needs ATTENTION and somebody needs reprimanded for this!! I mean is that to harsh or asking to much?! Am I over reacting?! All I know is I ever found out this was done with one of my kid's info.....I'd have a pharmacy named after me!!!!

BTW it actually WAS NOT Wal Mart!!!

Holy crap. That's freaky! I would report it somewhere!

I would definitely report it. That is very weird.

OMGosh that's scary! I would report it!

go into the pharmacy and get one of the HIPPA forms (or look online) and report it to the local agency that should be listed on there. That is definately a HIPPA violation and should be reported. Take pics of the bottle too. Just in case.

Amber1279 said:

go into the pharmacy and get one of the HIPPA forms (or look online) and report it to the local agency that should be listed on there. That is definately a HIPPA violation and should be reported. Take pics of the bottle too. Just in case.

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I'd do that exactly...

I would also try to contact the regional manager of the pharmacy or even the corporate offices. I might even go as far as to contact the family who's info is on the bottle and let them know what happened so they can get involved... but that IS harsh. LOL I would have a pretty hard time trusting this pharmacy in the future. I

I worked in a pharmacy in college (granted this was before HIPPA is what it is now) and we had to peel the labels off with the name and info on there..or sharpie them out. I bet the reason they didn't do it like that on the amoxicillin is the label would probably peel the amoxil label and the amt of water needed to mix it would peel off..granted they could just look at another bottle haha but still..they should have at least used a sharpie and made sure that the info was covered up completely.

I would take pics and report it to the HIPPA office. Sounds like whoever returned the meds to stock was half assing their job that day! (Was this a rite aid?)

You can report the HIPAA voliation here. http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/

Here is a direct link to the pdf on how to file a complaint. http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacyhowtofile.pdf

Im not sure I would want to give my child a medication that had someone elses name on it. Especially if it is the type that has to be mixed. So Im assuming they had it already mixed for the other child? Then with the info on it well yea that seems like a huge problem. I would contact the other person to be honest with you. Let them know what the pharmacy did. Then I would contact HIPPA and let them deal with it

FlirtatiousBrat said:

(Was this a rite aid?)

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Actually it was!!!! How'd ya know!?!?

I plan on calling back tomorrow when the manger is there and making sure they were made aware of this. I also planned on calling or emailing the corporate office. I even thought of writing a letter to our newspaper. Kind of like a "Is your information "safe" letter"!!!

I though of contacting the family, but then though better of it because I don't want to get myself in trouble, but then I though I could "demand" that Rite Aid contact them!?!

I will definitely take photos and even keep the bottle after we are done with the meds and send it to them if they need it!!

I'm so glad I wasn't over reacting!!!

Amber1279 said:

go into the pharmacy and get one of the HIPPA forms (or look online) and report it to the local agency that should be listed on there. That is definately a HIPPA violation and should be reported. Take pics of the bottle too. Just in case.

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yup, just what Amber said. This way, if this becomes a trend with this pharmacy or, god forbid, something bad happens as a result of their error, it is at the very least, documented.

mummytothree said:

Actually it was!!!! How'd ya know!?!?

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Lucky guess

I've had a few problems with them myself so I thought I'd just ask to see haha

I would def. report it to HIPPA. That's crazy.

I agree with everyone...I'd report it and I'd try to contact the name of the person on the bottle so that they can report it too.

I didn't think that this was legal. Evidently it is. Must be because it was never picked up. But I thought that they'd be tossed instead of used again for someone else, if for nothing more than for efficacy.
Two months ago I had to call a dr's office to get a new script because an intern had lost it. Thankfully I wasn't charged for a new one to be written. But that's the only trouble I've had with Rite Aid.

I would absolutely report it to Hippa... and I would contact the name on the bottle, and let them know that their privacy is being violated. I think if my DD's name were on the label under yours, I would absolutely want to know, so that I could handle it until i as the violated party was satisfied with the outcome, kwim?

Brooke W said:

I didn't think that this was legal. Evidently it is. Must be because it was never picked up. But I thought that they'd be tossed instead of used again for someone else, if for nothing more than for efficacy.
Two months ago I had to call a dr's office to get a new script because an intern had lost it. Thankfully I wasn't charged for a new one to be written. But that's the only trouble I've had with Rite Aid.

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They won't toss it..that would be money lost for the pharmacy since they would have to back the rx from the other patient's insurance and all that. I know in most states they won't accept an RX return from the customer but they can resell what was never picked up

To clarify it was never opened, I watched her break the seal and fill it with distilled water. A lot of antibiotics are in powder form now a days to prolong shelf life, bring down costs (that's why pharmacies can offer drugs like penicillin and amoxocillin for about $4 bucks a piece) to the consumer and to not have to keep them refrigerated. All they do is stick your label on it and when you get there to pick it up they "open" it and add the pre-measured water our of this little machine that is in the pharmacy.

I'm all for not wasting valuable meds, but use a little common sense people and remove the old labels!!

i did call Rite Aid corporate and talked with a CS person. She tok all the info and supposedly I'll get a call back from upper management in 24-48 hours. We will see. I am still going to report this to HHS-Office of Civil Rights, but it will be a few days till I can get the photos taken and uploaded and picked up!!!

Thanks for all the advise guys!!!

If something wasn't picked up, I don't think it's any big deal to re-sell it, assuming it hasn't expired, obviously. As for it being something that has to be mixed, I'm quite certain they don't actually mix it up until you get there to pick it up, so it would just have been sitting there in powder form.

Why is all that info on your Rx labels though? It's so not necessary. Here your name and the prescribing doctor's name is on the label. The only address and phone # on there is that of the pharmacy.

No you are definitely not overreacting. I would be mad if that happened to me. Keep us posted on what happens.

Wow, they definitely should have attempted to take off the old label... if not sharpie it out for sure. Thats bad form. I hope you get somewhere and they dont give you the run around. Someone was just being lazy :|

Joan said:

Why is all that info on your Rx labels though? It's so not necessary. Here your name and the prescribing doctor's name is on the label. The only address and phone # on there is that of the pharmacy.

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I'm kind of curious about that too. Maybe it is a rite aid thing. I get mine from Safeway and CVS and all that is on them is my name, my docs name and the name and addy of the pharmacy. I'd be more concerned about having the wrong meds by mistake than about privacy.